Keeping up with the Joneses has a whole new meaning after Week 15.
Raiders defensive end Chandler Jones single-handedly gave the Raiders a miraculous win in Week 15 — he also quite literally single-handedly put Patriots quarterback Mac Jones in the turf on the game-sealing TD.
The botched lateral that led to the touchdown has already become stuff of legend, and Jones' explanation for what went wrong (rather, right) on that play may join it in NFL lore. Chandler broke down the play to NBC's Peter King:
Instead of pursuing the ball, I just started playing back into saying, alright who’s the next passer? Who could they possibly throw it to next that’s behind the line of scrimmage? Because they’re playing this whole hot potato game. Sure enough, I saw Jakobi Meyers kinda look back at Mac Jones, the quarterback. He was standing in the middle of the field. I literally just jumped up when I saw the ball coming, intended for Mac. Mac was kind of standing there, looking at me with big eyes. I literally just jumped up and intercepted it. I just gave Mac a nice stiff arm with my right hand. The rest was history.
(As an aside: "Mac was kind of standing there, looking at me with big eyes," is an all-time classic line.)
MORE: NFL power rankings — Where Patriots, Raiders stand entering Week 16
Mac Jones preparing for one-on-one combat with Chandler Jones, getting run over, and then doing a little double-take at Jones running for the game-winning TD is one of the great moments in NFL history pic.twitter.com/GfrcxDM4Z5
— Bill Barnwell (@billbarnwell) December 19, 2022
The win must feel good for the surging Raiders in a number of ways: Las Vegas kept its playoff hopes alive with the win, and both Josh McDaniels and Chandler Jones got one over against their former squad.
A miracle for the Raiders ‼️ pic.twitter.com/AJiOYCXlbQ
— NFL (@NFL) December 19, 2022
Meanwhile, the Patriots take a big hit to their playoff chances, with a 27 percent chance to get to dance, per the New York Times.
If the stiff-arm flipped the two teams' fortunes, then maybe Mac Jones will stay out of the way if the situation arises again in the future.
